Patient balance works for Indianapolis

By Anthony Bialy  |   Sunday, September 09, 2007  |  Comments( 3 )

Indianapolis Colts
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The Indianapolis Colts' Joseph Addai could start a support group with former teammate Dominic Rhodes, Max McGee, and maybe Timmy Smith for players who should have but didn't win at least a share of the Super Bowl MVP. Peyton Manning either will be or already is considered the best ever at his position, but he might still be ringless if not for the sturdy ground attack Addai helped provide in his rookie season and, with Rhodes gone, is already primarily providing this year.

His coaching staff's willingness to fully establish that boring ground game brought Manning to a new level of success last year, and he is showing signs of remaining on the same impossibly high platform in the now. The first NFL game of the season once again featured the Colts crushing whomever was in their path, as the Saints were understandably unsuccessful at simultaneously slowing not only the famously magnificent passing game but also a persistently fruitful rushing assault.

The glamour shots on the sports recap programs largely showed Manning airing it out to his receivers on successfully long bombs, but the most important moments of the Colts' victory were Addai's 23 attempts which went for a total of 118 yards. Of more importance than the gaudy total was the fact the rush absorbed the defense's attention.

The first Colt score was an illustration of football at its simplest: First pound the ball between your tackles on a few plays, forcing the Saints to crowd the line, then let Manning air it to the eternally astounding Marvin Harrison, who easily ditched a hapless secondary member on his trip to the end zone. Of course, Harrison's job was made easier by the fact that he only had to worry about beating one man, with the safeties having to play tentatively thanks to fears of being gashed by the aforementioned run. He's good enough without help, and with a preoccupied defense, Harrison is as close to unstoppable as possible.

Aiding the ground pounding was an offensive line that did everything it wanted. For example, Jeff Saturday pushing around any defender within his arm span made Addai's day easier, which in turn benefited the passing game, which then leads to 31-point wins. Tony Ugoh barely treaded water in pass protection, understandable in his first pro game while facing Will Smith; plus, he was aggressively solid as he plowed ahead on rushes.

New Orleans' adjustments just made things worse for the visitors. For example, when the Saints blitzed a corner early in the third, Manning patiently hit Harrison deep near the goal line, a play made somewhat easier to execute by the fact that one member of the secondary was futilely on Indy's side of the line of scrimmage after a failed pass rush.

Manning's patented brand of poise, which can't be measured even by his stratospheric passer rating, makes sending extra rushers a pointlessly damaging strategy. Of course, keeping members of the secondary deep in coverage just means Addai can go to town, and this is the sort of thing that makes defensive coordinators cry and ask for their blankies. The rushing game is less thrilling than it was with Edgerrin James, but the current unspectacular yet steady style is more effective in helping the air game.

To update the relatively recent cliché, there is neither stopping nor containing Indianapolis' offense based on what we saw in the NFL's first 2007 regular-season contest. Opponents who necessarily attempt to stop the Colt rush will have to leave their corners on islands against Harrison and Reggie Wayne, who just happen to be catching passes from an insanely amazing, all-universe quarterback. Protect your head, and your abs get pummeled.

It's of course too early to make solid predictions, but, with just the one game to go on, there's no reason to think the Colts wouldn't be in contention to raise another real banner before their 2008 opener if they continue to display the willingness to patiently ground it out before airing it out.
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CommentsComments: 3  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Jason		04:56 AM
09/10/2007
I respectively agree with most of your article, except the part about Joseph Addai being less thrilling than Edgerrin James. I ...
No.2
Nate		07:20 AM
09/10/2007
It's nice that Peyton Manning finally got the monkey off of his back that he couldn't win the big one last season. But the truth ...
No.3
Chris		06:35 AM
09/12/2007
Sorry to disagree Nate, but the defenses he faced against Baltimore and Chicago in the superbowl were probably the best defenses ...
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